Various live tracks assembled circa 1973-1987. As news of the new rock music made it to Japan from the UK and the USA, mostly via rock magazines and music papers, with most LPs tough to find even on import, something was lost in translation that allowed it to mutate well beyond its original remit. Les Rallizes Dénudés took rock music at its word while visioning it as both unnecessarily complicated and too stupid by far. In doing so they formulated an inspirational blueprint that would go on to have a marked effect on everything that came after them in Japanese underground music. It's a music that's as loose as it is uptight, as sophisticated as it is punk-primitive, as radical as it is simplistic. As the old ESP-Disk banner used to promise, truly, you never heard such sounds. Digitally remastered. Includes an 8-page booklet in English and Japanese.

The best-known studio recordings by Les Rallizes Dénudés is the legendary Mars Studio sessions from 1980. The tracks were laid down during the tenure in the group of guitarist Fujio Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi is one of the more notorious figures in the Japanese rock underground. He was born to a Japanese mother and a black British father, brought up in a reformatory before channeling his anger and energy into a series of rock bands including Group Sounds garage rockers The Dynamites and proto-glam stompers Murahachibu. Yamaguchi's sojourn in Rallizes lasted just over a year, from early 1980 to March 1981, but the weightless, languid weird-form blues created by the meshing of Mizutani's billowing feedback and Yamaguchi's acid-etched lines has been regarded by many Japanese fans as one of the group's peaks. The fourth disc in the set comprises a live show from the same period as the studio recordings. Recorded on September 11, 1980 at the Yaneura club in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, this show was previously released under the title Double Heads September, though it was not included in the Double Heads 6CD document of Fujio's tenure in the group. Numbered, limited edition 4CD box set including a booklet with liner notes. Digitally remastered.

Between August 1980 and March 1981, Les Rallizes Dénudés (or The Naked Larryz, as the long-lost acetate they are rumored to have recorded for Virgin Records in the mid-'70s dubbed them) played seven concerts in and around Tokyo. Never officially released, illicit ninth generation cassette copies circulated in Japanese fan circles for many years, attaining a whispered, Holy Grail status amongst initiates to the Rallizes cult. High quality soundboard versions were finally released by the secretive Univive label in 2005. Three of the best of these concerts are collected on Double Heads, all recorded at Yaneura, a small club in the teeming neon teen shopping mecca of Shibuya in Tokyo. Together, these three concerts comprise a singularly pivotal moment in Les Rallizes Dénudés' development -- as well as some of the most glacially psychedelic music of their long career. This numbered, limited edition 6CD box set contains a booklet with liner notes. Digitally remastered.

Gatefold 2LP version. Another crucial release from the highly influential and reclusive Japanese psychedelic noise band Les Rallizes Dénudés, now available for the first time on vinyl. Originally formed in 1967, the band was known for its ties to avant-garde theater groups (as typified by Shuji Terayama's troupe) and leftist political groups, and their feedback-drenched live shows and use of strobe lights and mirror balls onstage earned them comparisons with The Velvet Underground. In 1970, bass player Moriaki Wakabayashi was involved in the hijacking of Japan Airlines Flight 351, orchestrated by the Japanese Red Army. Singer Takashi Mizutani was allegedly offered a role in the hijacking, but he turned it down. Cable Hogue is a CD release compiled by Mizutani from the original tapes he used for the Rallizes video which was released in 1992. Housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve.

Another crucial release from the highly influential and reclusive Japanese psychedelic noise band Les Rallizes Dénudés. Originally formed in 1967, the band was known for its ties to avant-garde theater groups (as typified by Shuji Terayama's troupe) and leftist political groups, and their feedback-drenched live shows and use of strobe lights and mirror balls onstage earned them comparisons with The Velvet Underground. In 1970, bass player Moriaki Wakabayashi was involved in the hijacking of Japan Airlines Flight 351, orchestrated by the Japanese Red Army. Singer Takashi Mizutani was allegedly offered a role in the hijacking, but he turned it down. Cable Hogue is a CD release compiled by Mizutani from the original tapes he used for the Rallizes video which was released in 1992. Digitally remastered. Housed in a numbered, limited edition 2CD card wallet.

Originally released in 2006 on the Univive label, Phoenix Records presents this highly-collectible, numbered limited edition 5LP box set of three live gigs spanning 1974-1977 and live material from a 1980 gig of legendary Japanese rock outfit Les Rallizes Dénudés. The group was formed in 1967 and incredibly, for a group that had only one official release (Oz Days Live, a double vinyl compilation release in 1973), played their last gig almost 30 years later in October 1996. As news of new rock music made it to Japan from the UK and the USA -- mostly via rock magazines and music papers, with most LPs tough to find even on import -- something was lost in translation in Japan that allowed it to mutate well beyond its original remit. Rallizes took rock music at its word while envisioning it as both unnecessarily complicated and too stupid by far. In doing so, they formulated an inspirational blueprint that would go on to have a marked effect on everything that came after them in Japanese underground music. It's a music that's as loose as it is uptight, as sophisticated as it is punk-primitive, as radical as it is simplistic. Includes an insert with liner notes.

Originally released in 2006 on the Univive label, Phoenix Records presents this highly-collectable, numbered limited edition 4CD box set of three live gigs spanning 1974-1977 and one bonus disc of live material from a 1980 gig of legendary Japanese rock outfit Les Rallizes Dénudés. The group was formed in 1967 and incredibly, for a group that had only one official release (Oz Days Live, a double vinyl compilation release in 1973), played their last gig almost 30 years later in October 1996. As news of new rock music made it to Japan from the UK and the USA -- mostly via rock magazines and music papers, with most LPs tough to find even on import -- something was lost in translation in Japan that allowed it to mutate well beyond its original remit. Rallizes took rock music at its word while envisioning it as both unnecessarily complicated and too stupid by far. In doing so, they formulated an inspirational blueprint that would go on to have a marked effect on everything that came after them in Japanese underground music. It's a music that's as loose as it is uptight, as sophisticated as it is punk-primitive, as radical as it is simplistic. Digitally remastered. Includes a booklet with liner notes.

2012 repress; LP version. Legendary Japanese rock outfit Les Rallizes Dénudés were formed in 1967 and incredibly, for a group that had only one official release (Oz Days Live, a double vinyl compilation release in 1973), played their last gig almost 30 years later in October 1996. The band's name apparently means "fucked up and naked," which more than adequately describes their music. Formed by band leader Mizutani Takashi, the music remained remarkably familiar over the years, and is best described as high volume, raw, lo-fi, repetitive, feedback-drenched guitar-noise fests with nods in the direction of The Velvet Underground and Blues Creation, but without the electronics. Radical left-wing politics were never far from the band's agenda, with one original band member (Wakabayashi) being involved in the Japanese Red Army's hijacking of a flight to North Korea. Consequently, the group's live appearances became less frequent and increasingly clandestine. All the band's albums were released in very small quantities, and because of the group's reputation for secrecy and violence, as well as the difficulty in tracking down their recordings, Les Rallizes Dénudés has assumed almost mythical status. Blind Baby Has Its Mother's Eyes sits at #11 on Julian Cope's list of top Japanese albums.

2012 repress. 2LP version. Phoenix Records releases the oft-bootlegged Heavier Than A Death In The Family by legendary Japanese rock/psychedelic noise band Les Rallizes Dénudés. This "album" is in fact, a blistering assemblage of live performances (all recorded in 1977, except for "People Can Choose," which was recorded in 1973) which sits at an esteemed #3 position on Julian Cope's Japrocksampler top 50 list. Reverb so heavy, it will split your frontal lobe in two.

Legendary Japanese rock outfit Les Rallizes Dénudés were formed in 1967 and incredibly, for a group that had only one official release (Oz Days Live, a double vinyl compilation release in 1973), played their last gig almost 30 years later in October 1996. The band's name apparently means "fucked up and naked," which more than adequately describes their music. Formed by band leader Mizutani Takashi, the music remained remarkably familiar over the years, and is best described as high volume, raw, lo-fi, repetitive, feedback-drenched guitar-noise fests with nods in the direction of The Velvet Underground and Blues Creation, but without the electronics. Radical left-wing politics were never far from the band's agenda, with one original band member (Wakabayashi) being involved in the Japanese Red Army's hijacking of a flight to North Korea. Consequently, the group's live appearances became less frequent and increasingly clandestine. All the band's albums were released in very small quantities, and because of the group's reputation for secrecy and violence, as well as the difficulty in tracking down their recordings, Les Rallizes Dénudés has assumed almost mythical status. Blind Baby Has It's Mothers Eyes sits at #11 on Julian Cope's list of top Japanese albums. Limited edition of 1,000 numbered copies only, housed in a unique LP-replica card wallet.